And another thing…

No-nos in the news: Astute readers, of which this newspaper has plenty, commented at length on our front page photo last Tuesday of Gov. Angus King, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary Terry Garcia navigating the Kennebec in a small open boat without benefit of life jackets. Those same readers drew ample attention to the February shot of Vice President Al Gore yanking on a downed power line during the ice storm recovery. Coming soon from our crack photojournalists: The entire Maine congressional delegation running with scissors.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope hit the astronomical jackpot this week by giving mankind its first look at a planet in another solar system. Located some 450 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Taurus, this new world is an immense thing — the size of several Jupiters — that consists primarily of hot gasses and is, alas, utterly devoid of intelligent life. Scientists expect this startling discovery will unlock many cosmic mysteries: How galaxies form; whether the universe is expanding; whatever became of Rush Limbaugh.

Jody-Anne Maxwell, a 12-year-old from Jamaica, captured the National Spelling Bee title Thursday with the word chiaroscurist.” What do you mean, you don’t know what it means? What do we have to do, draw you a picture?

First the feds go after software giant Microsoft. Now they’re taking on chip-maker Intel. Why don’t they just get it over with and put Amalgamated Wall Outlet out of business?

The Cat, the baddest high-speed ferry in North America, opened for business this week, cutting the trip from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, from six hours to a mere two and a half. The acclaim that greeted this remarkable achievement was great, but will be nothing compared to that awaiting the first person to figure out just what to do with all that extra time in Yarmouth.

Bravo to Duane Plum. He, of course, is the Portlander who used his own car Saturday to block a suspected drunken driver (with a young boy in the back seat) from leaving a Turnpike rest area, confiscated the keys, withstood an assault and kept the driver pinned to the ground until police arrived. Even if Mr. Plum weren’t 6-foot-3, 275 pounds, he’d still be one big hero.